During the second weekend in April, Oklahoma City has the “Redbud Classic,” which appears to be a bunch of fun, active things to get people outside and enjoying spring. We participated last year in the 50-mile bike ride, and this year, we did that bike ride again, in addition to a 10k run the following day. It’s quite the deal – 2 events for $30! The one annoyance was that they ran out of smaller size shirts, and we both had to settle for an XL. Why do race organizers think that the main demographic who participates in running and cycling events wears an extra large shirt? We did not register at the last minute, either…if you are a race director, please set out the shirts in the sizes requested for the people who register early! Luckily, the shirts were not preshrunk, so I was able to shrink them up a bit. Good thing – I really liked the shirt design (they do a very nice job!). Saturday’s bike ride was fun. We lined up at the front for our event (there were some USCF events ahead of us) and ended up being in the newspaper! Justin had told me to just stay with him when the gun went off, but when it did, Justin took off like a bat out of hell! I did not think it was prudent to be red-lining so soon, so I let him go off into the sunrise and settled into a smaller group of riders that included our friend, Norman, who we ride with quite a bit. He saw me and asked me where Justin was…and when I told him that he was the guy that took off at the start, Norman said, “Let’s go get him!” I held on for a while, but was shot off the back eventually and got to ride on my own for a while (happily, I might add). I took turns pulling with two different roadies, but eventually a bigger pack caught up, and I almost finished with them. I dropped my chain in the last 1000 feet going up a small hill and had to fix it! I ended up being the second woman to finish, but that doesn’t mean anything since it was a ride, not a race…Justin managed to hold everyone off except for Norman, who eventually caught him. They rode together for a while, but Norman (the überbiker!) pulled ahead, so they went 1-2. I think they had a good time!
Redbud Classic 50-Mile Ride 2006 ResultsOn Sunday, we did the 10k. The day was a bit warmer than expected, and the run times seemed really, really slow. Not a great run for either of us. This fall, after triathlon season is over, I am going to try and work towards a 40-minute 10k…but I have a little ways to go.
Redbud Classic 10k 2006 Results
I set a PR for an open half-marathon, and it wasn't too bad! The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and Half-Marathon are organized and run very well, so I would encourage anyone who is considering the race to do it. We did the marathon last year (ugh...such a long time to be doing the same thing...that's why I like triathlon!), but this year decided to do just the half. My game plan was pretty much to go fairly conservative for the first half, and then start stepping it up for the second half. I ended up running next to the woman who ended up winning the race for several miles early into the race, and actually hit the half-way point 10 or so seconds behind Justin. She obviously paces herself really well, considering that she did an impressive negative split. Eventually, though, I could not keep her pace, and then continued to run by myself to the end. I was definitely getting more and more tired, but was pretty pleased with my finish: 1:31:50. Next try will be to get below 1:30...
